Why, It’s Just Like Visiting Your Dominatrix!

Why would anyone in her right mind give someone money to cause her pain? Or in this case, rip apart her novel? A friend of mine compared it to a visit to your dominatrix…yes, well…

What was I talking about?

Oh, yeah. But I’ve found the pain is not as bad as you’d think. I just had The Harpoonist beat the devil out of my story and while, yes, I was afraid to look at the damage, I must admit that the result is worth it. And the thing is, every flaw she pointed out, I already knew. She was spot on, and this should teach me to trust my own judgment. Wow–there’s an idea. If I could trust myself, I could write a damn good novel. Maybe.

ha-ha-ha

Now I’ve got a novel to go rewrite. Or rather, I’ve got a novel I need to prepare for another round of abuse.

Here’s a scenario attributed to Henry Kissinger. When he was Secretary of State, one of his aides was responsible for a writing assignment that had to be completed by the next day. The aide assured his boss that the report would be on his desk first thing in the morning.

The next day, the aid kept his promise. However, later that same day, Kissinger called the aide into his office and asked him to rewrite it.

The aide took the report in hand and went about rewriting it; the next day, he proudly handed the work to Kissinger. Again, later that afternoon, Kissinger gave the report back to the aide with the instructions to rewrite it.

This back and forth went on for several more times. Finally, on this particular draft of the report, the aide, weary from all the work, said: “Here is the report, Mr. Secretary. This is the best I can do; I can’t make it better.”

Kissinger took the report, and then looked up at the aide, saying: “Good, now I’ll read it.”